Top-flite Antares User Manual download pdf (Page 15)

COVERING

The ANTARES lends itself quite well to a fully-Monokoted

finish Monokote will keep the dry, unballasted weight

well within reasonable bounds and this is important

when

working light

kinds of

lift

Also, the hinginq method

that we suggest for both the flaps and ailerons employs

the use of Monokote and this means not only the extreme

effectiveness of these surfaces is enhanced but colors

can be chosen that match the rest of the wing We would

caution you that we have never flown any of the proto-

types that did not use the hinging method that we are

showing you in this manual Surface effectiveness would

surely suffer should you decide to hinge the ailerons and

flaps with conventional nylon hinges

Before covering, we suggest that you fully assemble the

airframe and perform a simple balance test This only

involves trying to balance the airframe while it is sus-

pended from the nose bottom and the rear bottom of the

fuselage to see if one side is heavier than the other If,

after performing this test, you find one side definitely

heavier, compensate with a small amount of weight in the

opposite wing panel and re-balance Repeat this process

until you are satisfied This simple step, taken now, can

solve a lot of problems in trim later on

Each of the individual components are now covered,

fuselage, canopy, top hatch, stabilator halves, rudder,

ailerons, flaps and wing panels Follow the instructions

provided with each roll of Monokote Remember, to keep

simple, light and beautiful, keep it Monokote.

After covering, clear-out the hinge slots for the fin and

rudder Pre flex these hinges to free up their movement

We like to drill three or four small holes in each side ofthe

hinges first, so that when they are epoxied in place the

adhesive flows through the holes and acts as "pins"

when cured Hinge the rudder to the fin

Next, hinge the ailerons and flaps to their respective wing

panels As you can see from the diagram, this is done in

two steps with full length 1/2" wide strips of Monokote

Since the first strip applied is the inside one, you can

accurately locate the position of the surface to be hinged

with small pieces of light tack draftsman's tape on the

bottom hinge line Now rotate the surface all the way

around to the bottom surface of the wing and apply the

first, inside, hinge strip Remove the tape from the bot-

tom, hold the surface' in the full up position and apply

the second hinge strip to the bottom of the hinqe line As

the plans show, take care to maintain the smallest possi

ble

gaps between each

surface

(1/32"

less

making sure

free movement is maintained)

Locate and carefully clear-out all openings in the fuse

lage, wings, flaps, ailerons and stabs for the various push

rods,

horns,

antenna and tubes Use

a toothpick

apply

a little 5-minute epoxy to the inside of the aileron and flap

horn holes Screw the 4 40 flat head bolts (4) in place

from the bottom of each surface—wipe off any excess

glue with acetone The nylon rudder horn is now attached

with the two #2 wood screws provided.

You may have been wondering how the stab halves could

be locked in place if there is only one locking wheel

collar? Sim ple First test fit the stab halves to the fin, make

sure the joiner wires are the correct length to achieve a

good fit to the fin Once satisfied, simply apply a tiny

amount of CA adhesive to oneside of the two joiner wires

(not to the "flat" side of the rear one) and insert these into

the right stab half, the one without the wheel collar. Now

the wheel collar can lock the stabs to the fin and you won't

be losing those joiner wires'

Your kit comes with an 11" length of rubber skid ma-

terial—note that this has a removable backing that pro-

tects its adhesive This material can be shaped with

sandpaper, we did this at the nose to "streamline" it a

little We recommend cutting away a 3/8" wide strip of the

Monokote on the bottom of the fuselage where this strip

will be affixed—see plans Attach the strip in place,

ahead of the towhook, on the centerline We might sug-

gest that you drill a small hole in the skid at the very nose

and run a small (3/8" long, would do) wood screw through

the skid and into the noseblock, this anchors it quite well

and avoids "peeling".

HINGE-MAKING PROCEDURE

(SHOWN IN CROSS-SECTION; NO SPECIFIC RIB)

1/2 WIDE STRIP OF

SUPER MONOKOTE.

FULL LENGTH OF

FLAP OR AILERON

ROTATE FLAP (OR AILERON) DOWN TO A"TUCKED

UNDER" POSITION TAPE SECURELY IN PLACE

IRON ON A 1/2" WIDE STRIP OF SUPER MONOKOTE

THAT IS FULL LENGTH OF FLAP OR AILERON.

REMOVE TAPE SWING FLAP OR AILERON UP TO

FULL REFLEX POSITION TAPE SECURELY IRON

ON 1/2" STRIP OF SUPER MONOKOTE ALONG

HINGE LINE, AS SHOWN ABOVE REMOVE TAPE.

DO OTHER PANEL IN SAME MANNER

RADIO INSTALLATION

Assuming that you have followed these instructions thus

far, servo installation should not be a problem Use the

remaining 3/32" x 3/8" ply strip material to make the six

required

1-5/8"

long

servo rails

Note

that the

half-round

cut-outs on the bottom of the fuselage formers are there

to provide passage for the radio's various leads and

plugs We have consistently found that the plug and lead

wires for the flap servo is to short and therefore requires

an extension Start the servo installation with the flap

servo.

As shown on the plans the flap servo must sit on its rails,

on the centerline of the fuselage, with its output arm's

clevis holes lined up with the flap tube exits in the right

and left wing panel roots As previously discussed, this

output arm must also be centered within the oblong slot

in the fuselage sides when viewed from the side IMPOR-

TANT If your radio is not equipped with a servo reversing

1 2 ... 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Comments to this Manuals

No comments

Top-flite Antares User Manual Page 15

Comments to this Manuals

Related products and manuals for Air equipment Top-flite Antares